Sometimes in the hardest and scariest moments we can feel like we are isolated and alone. The last few weeks have been hard for so many in our area. With 2 hurricanes running rampant on the west coast and tornadoes ripping through our very own communities it can feel like we will never get our heads above water.
Maybe you were affected by the storms. Maybe you had a loved one who lost their home. Maybe you are just hurting and aching for the destruction you have seen. It can feel like you can’t do enough to make a difference. It can feel overwhelming to even know where to help.
The thing about trauma is that the feelings of the event can run through our veins for weeks, and months, and years to come. It’s one thing to know you are safe but it’s another thing to heal from what you experienced or watched happen, leaving you feeling anxious, helpless, and beyond overwhelmed.
That feeling you are feeling though right now, the one that you can’t seem to slip out of, you are not alone in that.
In fact in the child welfare arena, the one we serve in each and every day, we walk into the most traumatic situations. The difference though? Many are alone in their fight. Children are alone as they are abandoned by family. Mothers are fighting alone as they struggle to leave an abusive relationship. Grandparents are alone as they care for their grandchildren who are placed with them abruptly.
Isolation and feeling seen can be the difference between making it through something and giving up half way in between.
Maybe that is why Hands and Feet was created. Maybe it was a deep down desire for others to feel seen in their darkest of moments. Maybe because we know what it’s like to feel alone in those heavy and awful moments. And we knew that we never wanted someone to feel that isolated again.
So if you’re struggling to realize if there is any good left in this world take a look around you. Look at the community rallying together to help the families who lost everything. Look at how people from all areas have stepped up in a time of need to provide for mere strangers.
And isn’t that what community is really all about? Reminding each other that we in fact are not alone.
With Love,
Bailey Hughes
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